The Symbolic Nature of Feminine Body Hair

I remember when I was just a little girl and saw my sister's roommate's
armpits. Being the free spirit that she was they were hairy and I remember the
chaos this caused in my family. It was SO taboo... Now as I grow older and
learn more about myself I find her unabashed feminine beauty exhilarating, sexy
and admirable...
- Cathy, USA (from Internet: http://www.yoni.com/loverf/armpits.shtml)

It is common practice for women in American society to pluck, shave, wax, or
otherwise remove body hair from various parts of their bodies. This paper seeks
to investigate why women go through these rituals, how they feel about them,
and why they would stop removing body hair from their bodies when it violates
the definition of gender that society has written for females. How much does
the woman who does not participate in body hair removal practices change her
gender-role identity? "Gender-role identity refers to how much a person
approves of and participates in feelings and behaviors which are seen as
'appropriate' for his/her gender" (Kessler, 10).

Methodology

Informants were informally interviewed for approximately 20 minutes or via
email. Some interviews lasted considerably longer, while a few were very short.
Informants ranged in age from 20 to 46 years of age. All consider themselves,
and are considered by society to be female. No specific set of questions was
asked, but topics covered included age of first shave, what body hair is
removed, and why body hair is or is not removed.

Information, such as advertisements, was taken from various sources, including
the internet and popular magazines.

I did not discuss my body hair removal practices prior to interviewing the
informants, although at least one knew of them. I personally let both my leg
and armpit hair grow, and quite prefer it to shaving on at least a bi-weekly
basis.

Adolescence and Body Hair

Whether you're at a party with that "skimpy little black number" that shows off
your legs, on the beach in a reveal-all bikini, or face-to-face with that
special someone, you'll want smooth, sexy skin without any ugly unwanted hair.
Ad for 'Showgirl Sugar' (Internet: http://www.sugarit.com/info1.htm

Several informants began shaving at the age of 12 or 13. All started at least
in part because "everyone else" was doing it. One said that among seventh grade
girls shaving was a "hot topic" and she wanted to have "grown-up legs."
Another, who currently takes a lassez-faire attitude toward shaving, said that
when she began shaving she shaved it "all off." If you didn't shave it was "bad
. . . unattractive." When questioned about where she got the idea that body
hair was unacceptable, she replied "from society as a whole . . . there are no
sexy models with hairy legs." Another informant began because people made fun
of her, saying "damn, girl, you gotta shave your legs."

Two informants even fought for the right to shave their legs. One "snuck behind
her mother's back" to begin shaving, and another had to convince her mother,
and then was only permitted to shave using electric razors. A third informant
approached her mother, saying "I want to shave." Not a single informant
reported parental pressure to begin shaving.

Adolescents tend to suffer from a desire to fit in and be like everyone else.
They are particularly susceptible to pressure put on them by their peers and by
the media. They "find it difficult to resist or even question the dominant
cultural messages perpetuated and reinforced by the media" (Rothenberg, 348).
In ads for razors or other shaving products, models are often shown from a
perspective that lengthens their legs, creating an image of impossibly long
silken legs. The omnipresent smooth long legged model has a great influence on
the way young women visualize their perfect self. Leg, armpit, or facial hair
does not fit into this image. (See figure 1.) "The body-image . . . is the
result of the internalization of the body-image of others . . .. Overall, what
is significant about this body-image is that it is neither practical nor
cultural . . . it is a threshold term occupying both positions" (Moore, 22).

Young women are further socialized to see their body hair as unattractive to
males. (Of course, in the dominant culture, especially as practiced by teen
magazines and adolescents, there is no leeway made for those women who are not
attracted to men. All women are considered to be either heterosexual or
deviant.) YM, a popular teen girl's magazine, reflects this view that males
dislike body hair on females. "80% of the boys we polled would run and hide
from hairy legs. Even more have a freakfest over armpit hair: a whopping 89%"
(See figure 2).

Feelings of Attractiveness and Cleanliness

A young marketing executive with the Wilkinson Sword Company, who also made
razor blades for men, designed a campaign to convince the women of North
America that: a. Underarm hair was unhygienic and b. unfeminine.
In two years the sales of razor blades doubled as our grandmothers and great
grandmothers made themselves conform to this socially constructed gender
stereotype.
- Why Women Shave Their Legs (Internet:
http://reseau.chebucto.ns.ca/CommunitySupport/Men4Change/shavelegs.html)

Q: How do you feel when you can not remove your body hair for a period of time?
(Because of sickness, etc.)

A: "I feel like a hairy monger. I don't feel as good about myself . . . dirty,
skanky."

A:"I stopped for a while and didn't like it . . . I felt unfeminine, messy . .
. like I didn't take care of myself . . . embarrassed. (only in front of guys)
. . . [Now] I feel dirty when I can't shave. Grungy. It's just like ugh yuck.
Kind of dirty. Especially with pale legs and dark hair, gross. If only I had
blond leg hair."

The message that filters through into adulthood is that women who are
clean-shaven are just that: clean, as well as attractive. This is primarily a
North-American phenomenon, regarded as a cultural truth to those who practice
body-hair removal. However, males rarely remove body hair and are not
considered unclean because of this. It is a culturally constructed
uncleanliness, rather than a concept grounded in reality.

There is a substantial cultural denigration of those women who do not prefer to
be shaven. "People have very different ways of treating those whom they regard
as physically attractive and those whom they consider physically unattractive"
(Snyder, 325). Body hair, particularly armpit hair, is seen as dirty, messy,
and bad. The woman with armpit hair is considered to be "not as feminine,
well-kept or groomed" in the words of one informant.

In a thesis study conducted by a psychology major at Lafayette in 1995 it was
found that "people perceived the woman with body hair as less sexually
attractive, sociable, intelligent, positive, and happy than the woman without
body hair. At the same time, they saw the woman with body hair as more active,
stronger, and more aggressive. These are typically masculine traits that are
generally viewed as positive in this culture. They are not viewed as
particularly feminine, however, and thus take on negative connotations here.
This creates a conflict for women -- femininity or culturally valued traits of
strength and activity?" (Internet:
http://www.lafayette.edu/~paper/spring96/march29/feature1.htm). This certainly
points to the effect that other people have on the decision to remove body
hair. One informant called it a "pain in the neck," and no informant, even when
specifically questioned about it, professed enjoying the actual ritual of
removal. So if a practice is not pleasant, can result in cuts, scratches, and
painful bumps, why is it so widespread?

Hair is seen as a culturally male cue. Not removing leg and armpit hair can
seem to disrupt the process that results in a decision about a person's gender.
"There is an ongoing process, certain procedures to follow . . . which result
in a decision about a person's gender" (Kessler, viii). While not shaving does
not in itself bring about a decision of 'male,' it creates an uncomfortable
confusion in the decider's mind which reflects back onto the person being
considered.

Sexuality and Body Hair

I prefer to be clean shaven . . . I also know that during those times when I
don't shave, I retain a lot more body odor/scent, regardless of soap and
deodorant. That in itself may be another cultural/religious thing... being an
Irish-Catholic, the message was to keep the body clean in ALL ways – celibacy
included. Can't go 'round give off all sorts of scents without facing the
consequences!
Mary, USA (Internet: http://www.yoni.com/loverf/armpits.shtml

Q: How would you feel differently about your sexuality if you could no longer
shave your legs?

American women identify strongly with their bodies. A body that is unattractive
(as a hairy female body is seen) is not a sexy body. A woman without a sexy
body has a hard time considering herself sexy. A sexy woman does not have leg
or armpit hair (See figure 4).

I fell in love with an older man during college who told me he would be much
more attracted to me if I would stop. I did, and the effects were numerous.
Instead of being insecure about my 'hairyness,' it made me more confident
sexually.
Jeanne, USA (Internet: http://www.yoni.com/loverf/armpits.shtml

In fact, several informants said that male partners did not care whether they
removed body hair. "Boys don't care," said one informant, who removes her body
hair infrequently during the winter. One informant, a bisexual woman, said that
she personally did not care whether her female partners were "hairy or not."
Another informant, who had briefly experimented with not shaving her leg hair,
related an incident in which a male she was dating saw her unshaven legs. She
apologized for the hairiness of her legs, blaming it on the influence of her
roommate. He said "It's okay." In embarrassment, she shaved her legs the
following day. Clearly, the force that motivates body hair removal is not
always the disapproval of male partners.

Letting hair grow can be an enjoyable experience. One informant considers her
armpit hair to be "kind of cute," though she does shave it before wearing
clothing that would expose her armpits. Another informant, who had not shaved
for quite a long while, resumed removing her body hair "because [she] was tired
of being an unshaven undergrad and explaining to everyone why," not because of
any feelings of uncleanliness or perceived loss of femininity.

Conclusions

Body hair removal is a widespread phenomenon among American women. It is
considered feminine, hygienic, and attractive, where non-removal of body hair
is considered masculine, unclean, and ugly. These socially constructed truths
are pushed on adolescents, who are particularly vulnerable to influence. This
ideal of a hairless woman continues in women's minds through adulthood, where
the ritual of body hair is continued, although it is unpleasant, and many
intimate partners do not have a strong dislike for body hair. The culturally
constructed definition of gender is hard to overcome, or even question, for
most women. "Gender is, in the first place, a social fact" (Kessler), and it is
a social fact that influences every aspect of women's lives in American
society. A woman who does not remove her body hair can be construed as being
part of the unacceptable model discussed by Cheung. "The unacceptable model is
unacceptable because he cannot be controlled by whites. The acceptable model is
acceptable because he is tractable. There is racist hate and racist love"
(236). A woman who does not present herself as tractable and cooperative to the
norms of patriarchal society is refusing to bow to a definition of femininity
that she does not agree with. She is refusing sexist love.